Employers can also reduce the incidence of job-hopping by being transparent about the nature of the positions being offered to candidates.
“Success is about managing expectations,” Ginder says. “Be extremely transparent with job descriptions, what the hours are, the positives and negatives of the organization, what advancement is going to look like, how feedback works and information about the organization’s communication styles.”
Transparency needs to begin long before a candidate even thinks of applying for work. Companies must take pains to polish their images on social media and review sites such as glassdoor.com
“We’re living in an information age, and this is our most technologically-savvy workforce so far,” Ginder says. “Everything from a company’s reputation to its organizational culture can be found online. So that is important for getting the Gen Zers to actually apply for the job.”
That same transparency needs to be provided on the job itself.
“With Gen Zers specifically, there’s a lot more desire to know,” Gibbs says. “Transparent communication tells them they are valued, that they are worth communicating with and that there’s a level of respect. And if they receive that respect, they will, in turn, respect the manager.”
Transparency goes two ways: Gen Zers also want a seat at the table regarding authority.
“Traditionally, early-career professionals have felt their voices would be dismissed because of their inexperience,” Ginder says. “With this new generation of post-millennials, though, we’re talking about folks who have a real focus on respect and inclusion in the workplace. That means they want to be able to have a voice when it comes to decisions. They want to understand the process and procedures for how things function.”
Gen Zers also want to enjoy some autonomy when it comes to how they get their work done. All of this can be unsettling for employers.
“One challenge is that a lot of Gen Zers have not had jobs prior to their first position, so they have little experience,” Ginder says. “It can be challenging for an employer to foster a sense of autonomy.”
One way is to encourage experimentation within boundaries. There is a trend toward normalizing failure as a learning tool, as a way to move everyone forward on the skill path.
Because this generation values transparency, avoid the temptation to award promotions in name only.
“Gen Zers will see through title inflation,” Ginder says. “It may be attractive at first, but because they’re a generation that values transparency, it will eventually fall flat. And then they’re going to be disillusioned and job hop a lot quicker.”
Will these approaches help reduce employee turnover? Maybe to some extent, but no matter the company policy, Gen Zers are likely to possess a different job loyalty than previous generations.
“The Happy Feet syndrome may decrease a bit and maybe longevity will go up, but it’s not about loyalty the way boomers and the greatest generation people think about it,” Verchota says. “It’s really about loyalty to me, to my career, to what I want out of life and about how I’m responsible for getting it.”
Finding champions
Gen Zers also differ in their favored sources for instruction.
“Older generations tended to seek guidance from people who had maybe 20 or 30 years of experience,” Gibbs says. “Gen Zers, though, tend to look to their peers. So rather than having an expert tell them how to do something, it can be more effective to find a champion in their age group whom you can turn into a superstar and let them be the communicator.”
Additionally, Gen Zers tend to eschew reading and have short attention spans. That can make instruction manuals less effective.
“It’s smart to provide video content, short bits of training that only last two to three minutes,” Gibbs says. “Provide bite-sized infotainment to help drown out other distractions such as social media.”
The Gen Zer’s penchant for technology can also make them loners. That can be problematic in a workplace where one-on-one interactions often help drive revenues and efficiencies.
“Gen Zers tend to be individualistic and would rather communicate through technology than face to face,” Ginder says. “But that’s not how an organization typically works. It’s not just a bunch of solo folks doing their thing. Most things happen within some level of teamwork.”
This is where managers can experience a lot of frustration, and the new generation will need assistance.
“It’s important to help Gen Zers build their personal skills by supporting structured team activities,” Ginder says. “There will have to be a lot of coaching around when it’s appropriate to pick up the phone or to walk down the hall and communicate with someone, especially during situations of conflict or where there’s a higher opportunity for misunderstanding.”
Making it work
Managed correctly, the growing wave of Gen Zers entering the workforce will positively impact the operations of a company.
“Gen Zers have a lot going for them,” Ginder says. “Research shows they’re highly achievement-oriented, more educated than previous generations and more diverse. That speaks a lot to some of their qualities, but also to how we can tailor the way we work with them.”
If older generations struggle to deal effectively with the youngest workers, the result can be worth the effort.
“There is much upside potential to learning how to adjust our management practices to maximize the potential of Gen Zers,” Ginder says. “There’s so much there. It’s an amazing generation, as all generations are. Using the right framework and approach, the sky’s the limit.”
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Phillip M. Perry is an award-winning journalist who is published widely in the fields of business management, workplace psychology and employment law.